In a single day, you might write a check for daycare, charge a lunch bill, rent a car, change cable providers and apply for a credit card.
These everyday transactions can give a con artist all the tools he needs to assume your identity and wreck your credit.
“Identity theft is the fastest growing form of fraud in Georgia and across the country,” said Michael Rupured, a UGA Cooperative Extension consumer financial expert.
The risk of identity theft can never be completely eliminated, he said. But to improve the chances of avoiding it:
- Limit sharing your Social Security number.
- Monitor your credit report. When applying for loans, credit cards or anything else that requires access to your credit report, request your SSN on the application be obliterated. Ask the company to shred the original report in your presence.
- Shred old bank statements and junk mail credit card offers before throwing them away.
- Remove your name from the marketing lists of the three consumer credit reporting agencies.
- Don’t carry extra credit cards or other important identity documents except when needed. Cancel unused credit card accounts.
- Make copies of the contents of your wallet. Copy both sides of your driver’s license and credit cards.
- Never give your credit card number or personal information over the phone unless you have initiated the call and trust that business.